THE WINTER'S TALE @ SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY, 7/27/10

by Michael Eck
Special to The Times Union
LENOX, MASS. – William Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” is a frustrating property. Perhaps that’s why it’s performed less frequently than many of his better know works.
The play can’t seem to decide if it’s a tragedy or a comedy, and the tragic elements are brutal and the comic elements broad.
In addition, in today’s world it’s simply hard to but some of the devices in the plot, and while some scenes hint at magical realism, they do so in an unconvincing way.
The piece is often classed as one of the “problem plays” for specifically these reasons, and Kevin Coleman’s current production of the play at Shakespeare & Company does little to solve these problems.
One is left with the feeling of having witnessed a well-done muddle.
The best news about the production is that it marks the return of Jonathan Epstein to the S&C fold. He’s certainly been seen in the Berkshires in recent years, but it’s first time back on Kemble Street in quite some time.
To call Epstein intense is an understatement and he is magnificent here as Leontes, King of Sicilia.
His rage is just frightening, his anguish crippling and his happiness hedged with all the bittersweet edge of a man who has known great sadness. It’s a great portrayal.
Leontes is at the heart of the “Tale,” and Coleman provides a sort of scorecard in the program to help follow viewers through the wicked plot.
Quickly, the once chipper Leontes suspects his wife, Hermione (Elizabeth Aspenleider) of sneaking off with his childhood friend, Polixenes, King of Bohemia (Johnny Lee Davenport). What’s more he’s sure the child she carries is not his.
In his rage he attempts to poison Polixenes, jails Hermione and sends the newly born daughter to the desert (a better fate than the burning he first proposes).
Having upset Apollo his entire family dies (or close to it) and Epstein’s Leontes falls apart in a staggeringly well-composed scene.
Then the second act is silly.
You think I’m kidding.
The entire tone of the play turns on a dime and anyone who wasn’t feeling lost before is now. Shakespeare is a master of juggling the sublime and the ridiculous, but not here.
The production is worth seeing simply to add the show to one’s Shakespeare collection, but don’t expect to be transported by anything but Epstein’s acting.
A bevy of S&C stalwarts play supporting and leading roles.
The ever-dependable Aspenlieder is convincing as the wronged wife; Ryan Winkles is excellent as Prince Florizel; and Jason Asprey provides an odd sort of comic gravitas as the peddler/thief, Autolycus.
And Corinna May provides a voice of reason as Pauline, a courtier’s wise wife.
Visually, Coleman creates nice tableux with ensemble scenes, especially a second act wedding party that — in an echo of the first act — explodes into anger when Polixenes denies his son’s marriage to Perdita (Leontes’ long-lost daughter, sixteen years later).
But, as obviously noted, his good efforts can’t lift this play above the mundane.
You’ll be glad to say you’ve seen “The Winter’s Tale,” but you might not be glad to see it.

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I get the impression that you are more frustrated by the play itself than the production of it. In my opinion, The Winter’s Tale is only a “problem play” when the interpretation, the adaptation and/or the performance is ineffectual. When it is done well, there is no muddle and you won’t feel lost. If you want to see how it’s done, come to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival (Stratford, Ontario, Canada http://www.stratfordfestival.ca) this season and prepare to be transported. You will be glad to see it!

“The play can’t seem to decide if it’s a tragedy or a comedy, and the tragic elements are brutal and the comic elements broad.”

The play is one of Shakespeare’s rarely performed Romance plays and it is in this element of twining together tragedy and comedy, not to mention redemption, that make performances like ‘The Winter’s Tale’ at Shakespeare & Company so rewarding.

If you don’t like the blend of tragedy and comedy then I strongly suggest you steer clear of ‘Pericles, Prince of Tyre’, ‘Cymbeline’, ‘The Tempest’ and ‘The Two Gentlemen of Verona’…just to name a few.

Lilliane
ps. The lady in waiting is spelled incorrectly in your review. It’s Paulina, not Pauline.

In my own opinion, regardless of what you thought of the production, you couldn’t be more wrong about this play. It’s actually more often classified as one of Shakespeare’s romances, not one of his problem plays. I’m glad that you’ve acknowledged the talented Epstein (I was lucky enough to see him play Lear, and I don’t think anyone could ever live up to that performance) and the rest of the cast, but the fact that you seem utterly underwhelmed by a play which displays some of Shakespeare’s most transportive and enchanting poetry leads me to believe that perhaps the “muddle” came from the production, not the play. When done correctly, the play speaks to the destructive terrors of self-perpetuated jealousy, and the healing powers of art and time.